Recede and set works



April 15, 1930.- E. G. STACK 1,754,701

lRlCllDll AND SET WORKS Filed May 22. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 15, 1930. E. G. sTAcK l 1,754l70l RECEDE AND SET WORKS -Filed May 22. 1928 2 sheets-sheet 2 I\ fl/mm N [il O E E s a m @E E 5 T1 Patented Apr. 15, 193() PATENT OFFICE EMMET G. STACK, OF MARSHFIELD, OREGON RECEDE AND SET WORKS Application led May 22,

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, cheap, and efficient power recede and set works adaptable to the smaller sawmillone that is within the reach of the man with limited capital, one that will enable the setter on the small sawmill carriage to do his work as quickly and easily as the setter on the big expensive rig, and one that is equally adaptable to either a rack and pinion or a screw block carriage.

Essentially every sawmill carriage consists of a frame supported on trucks. The frame carries two or more cross bunks called blocks in which the knees are slidable by means of a rotating pinion meshing in a rack attached to the bottom of the knee or thru the movement of a screw running thru a nut secured in the bottom of the knee, thus a log secured against the knees and resting on the blocks is moved out past the saw any predetermined distance by either rotating the pinions or turning the screws. The knees are receded for another log by a reverse movement of the pinions or screws. For many years the only means available to set out the knees or recede them was the ratchet operable thru a lever by the setter though several auxiliary means were employed to recede the blocks more quickly. Setting with hand setworks was a very strenuous job especially when sawmills began to manufacture the large and long timbers of the Pacific coast. Setworks of the steam type were developed to do the hard work for the setter and then the rope driven type and lately the motor driven type came into use. These three types of power setworks are necessarily very costly, as to iirst cost, cost of installation, and cost of operation. To the one mill that can aford a power setworks of either the steam, rope, or motor driven type, there are six mills that cannot aord them (or think they cant) and must rely on the slow laborious method of ratcheting out by means of a lever workable by the setter. A perusal of .my drawings and specifications will show what I have already accomplished in reality.

Fig. l, is a plan view of a saw-rig to which my device has been applied; Fig. 2, is a side view; Fig. 3, is a side view of my device 1928. Serial No. 279,741.

keyed on the end of the screw on a screw block type of carriage with the dotted lines showing the device in position to set or recede; Fig. 4, is an end view showing the device partly in section on line 1-1, Fig. 3, to-

gether with old ratchet setworks, blocks and knee; Fig. 5, is a plan view showing the device on ajack shaft and the relation to a block and knee.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts thruout the several views.

F ig. 1, shows the-general relation of the saw 1, the track 2, the trucks 3, the carriage frame 4, the blocks 5, the knees 6, and the set shaft 7 thru which movement is imparted to all the knees 6 simultaneously whenever said set shaft 7 is rotated in either` direction by any means. This simultaneous movement of the knees 6 is brought about because the pinions which move the racks attached to the knees in the rack and pinion type of carriage or the gears 8A that mate with the gears 8B keyed to the screws 8 of the screw block type of carriage, are keyed to the set shaft as 7, and so whenever the set shaft 7 is rotated in either direction all the knees as 6 move in or out together.

Fig. 4, illustrates a screw block with the set ratchets 11 keyed on an extension of one of the screws 8 which runs thru a nut (not y shown) secured to the bottom of the knee 6. A forward movement of the knees 6 is accomplished by the setter moving the lever 9 which actuates the pawls 10 working on the rat-chets 11. To recede the knees 6 a handwheel (not shown) is keyed to the extension of the screw 8 in lieu of the sprocket 16 of my device. This is a slow and laborious method of receding the knees. Other means have been devised such as springs which must be wound up in order to impart the stored up energy in them to recede the knees. Friction recedes have been devised but one cannot set out satisfactorily with them efficiently and they are also costly and need much care.

My device consists of a chain 12 of the link belt or riveted type suspended between two supports on each end of the carriage run. Fig. 1, shows the chain fastened by the eye bolts 13 to blocks 111 secured to the posts 15 of the mill frame. The eye bolts 13 provide means for obtaining the right degree of tension in the chain 12 though they might be dispensed with when this condition was once brought about. The sprocket 16 is keyed to the screw 8. The lever 17 is shown as straddling the sprocket 16 which has shoulders 16A turned for a bearing about which the lever 17 may pivot. The shouldered pin 18 upon which the sprocket 19 is free to turn secures the two extended ends 17A of the lever 17. The sprocket 19 runs under the chain 12 and is preferably in engagement with it at all times, while the sprocket-'16 runs over the chain and in the clear of it unless deliberately brought into engagement with it by the setter. The action of the chain 12 and the sprocket 19 may be likened to a rack and pinion, the sprocket 19 rolling back and forth on the chain as the carriage moves in either direction. lNlien the setter wishes to recede the knees 6 he pulls the upper end of the lever 17 toward him as the carriage is moving back to a position in front of the saw 1. By this movement of the lever 17 its lower end, carrying the sprocket 19, is moved upwardly bringing the bight of the chain 12 into contact with the sprocket 16 which then acts as a rack for the teeth of the sprocket 16 and causes the sprocket 16 to rotate and with it the screw 8 to which it is keyed. The backward movement of the carriage while the teeth of the sprocket 16 are in engagement with the links of the chain 12 recedes the knees 6 and a forf ward movement sets them out. This action might be reversed but the natural movement is as described-a forward movement to set out and a backward movement to recede. Very little effort is required of the setter to raise the chain 12 into engagement with the teeth of the sprocket 16 and to hold it there. B throwing the chain 12 intoengagement wlth the teeth of the sprocket 16 during the backward run of the carriage he rapidly recedes the blocks, while on a forward run he can set out logs that he could not move with the old hand set works. No time is lost in either operation because it is done during a movement of the carriage. Thru the use of this device I doubled the capacity of rigs. On old rigs the regular set works are left as is, but, when the setter gets used to handling my device, they become auxiliary equipment. Fig. 3, shows the lever 17 equipped with two pawls 20 and 20 adaptable to be engaged with the teeth of the sprocket 16 whereby the sprocket 16 may be turned forward or back in order to set or recede the knees 6 whether the carriage is moving or standing still. In accomplishing the above the lever 17 is moved thru a lesser arc than when setting or receding by raising the chain 12 into engagement with the sprocket 16. Fig. 5, shows my device on a jack shaft as 21 which drives the set shaft 7 thru the gears 22. This is the method employed on rack and pinion carriages and appears to be the better method with either type of carriage because the chain 12 may be supported on the carriage floor and not all by the sprocket 19.

It can be seen that many minute changes might be made in the appearance and construction of my device without departing from the basic idea, and therefore, in view of the prior art, I claim:

l. In a sawmill carriage recede and set in combination with the headblocks and knees and the set shaft for moving the knees, a driving means including: a driving sprocket operating the set shaft; in idler sprocket mounted on means pivoting about the axis of the driving sprocket and engaging a chain supported by its ends parallel to the travel of the sawmill carriage, so that said means and the idler sprocket may be operated to raise the chain into engagement with the teeth of the driving sprocket whereby the chain acts as a rack for the driving sprocket during the movement of the carriage in either direction.

2. In a sawmill carriage recede and set in combination with the hea dblocks and knees and the set shaft for moving the knees, a driving means including: a jack shaft; gears connecting the jack shaft and the set shaft; a driving sprocket operating the jack shaft; an idler sprocket mounted on means pivoting about the axis of the driving sprocket and engaging a chain supported by its ends parallel to the travel of the sawmill carriage, so that said means and the idler sprocket may be operated to raise the chain into engagement with the teeth of the driving sprocket whereby the chain acts as a rack for the driving sprocket during the movement of the carriage in either direction.

3. In a sawmill carriage recede and set in combination with the headblocks and knees and the set shaft for moving the knees, a driving means including: a driving sprocket operating the set shaft; an idler sprocket mounted on means pivoting about the axis of the drivin@r sprocket and engaging a chain supported oy its ends parallel to the travel of the sawmill carriage, so that said means and the idler sprocket may be operated to raise the chain into engagement with the teeth of the driving sprocket whereby the chain acts as a rack for the driving sprocket during the movement of the carriage in either direction; pawlsV mounted on the pivoting meansv and adapted to bev engaged with the teeth of the driving sprocket so that it may be rotated in either direction independent of carriage movement and without engaging with the chain, by moving the pivoting means thru a lesser arc.

4. In a sawmill carriage recede and set in combination with the headblocks and knees and set shaft for moving the knees, a `driving means including: a jack shaft; gears connecting the jack shaft with the set shaft; a driving sprocket operating the jack shaft; an idler sprocket mounted on means pivoting about the axis of the driving sprocket and engaging a chain supported by its ends parallel to the travel of the sawmill carriage, so that said means and the idler sprocket may be operated to raise the chain into engagement with the teeth of the driving sprocket lo whereby the chain acts as a rack for the driving sprocket during the movement of the carriage in either direction; pawls mounted on the pivoting means and adapted to be engaged with the teeth of the driving sprocket so that it may be rotated in either direction independent of carriage movement and Without engaging with the chain, by moving the pivoting means thru a lesser arc.

5. In a sawmill carriage recede and set in combination with the carriage carrying the headblocks and knees and set shaft for moving the knees, a driving means including: a

driving sprocket operating the set shaft; an

idler sprocket mounted on means pivoting about an aXis located on the carriage and engaging a chain supported by its ends parallel to the travel of the sawmill carriage, so

that said means and the idler sprocket may be operated to raise the chain into engagement with the teeth of the driving sprocketwhereby the chain acts as a rack for the drive ing sprocket during the movement of the carriage in either direction.

6. In a sawmill carriage recede and set in combination with the carriage carrying the headblocks and knees and set shaft for moving the knees, a driving means including: a jack shaft; gears connecting the jack shaft with the set shaft; a driving sprocket operf 4Q ating the jack shaft; an idler sprocket mounted on means pivoting about an axis located on the carriage and engaging a chain supported by its ends parallel to the travel of the sawmill carriage, so that said means and the idler sprocketA may be operated to raise the chain into engagement with the teeth of the driving sprocket whereby the chain acts as a rack for the driving sprocket during the movement of the carriage in either direction.

EMMET G. STACK. 

